Sinister: Blue Jean Bop

[Joe Christmas]

Here, it feels like autumn already.  It seemed to start bang on the first of October this year, like the weather could read the calendar, as I said to the pretty girl in Oddbins today.  I'll be listening to Scott Walker next.  That's a sure sign.  Thankfully I found one of these 'pubs' you hear about.  They let me sit inside in the warm for as long as I had money to buy booze, which makes ye feel better anyway.
 
One Saturday afternoon a few months back me and the brother were shooting the breeze in the Windsor when Belle and Sebastian came on the stereo.  The landlord of this booze shop, a fellow by the name of Davie, seems to be involved in music somehow, perhaps a musician himself, so you tend to get some decent selections when he's on.
-Belle and Sebastian? asks the brother
-Aye
-Always meant to get some of their stuff.  Ye can hear the Incredible String Band influence
-Aye aye
That's pish! I thought to myself.  He's said this to me before and I can't say I've ever agreed with him.  The Incredible String Band are the biggest load of fuckin wank that I've heard in my puff, really really bad self indulgent 60s hippie shite, everything that was bad about that kind of music.  But him, being an old hippie, likes them so I agree for the sake of keeping the peace and in the hope that he'll buy another round.  There's never usually a problem in that department mind as as well as being an old hippie and an old boozer too.  In fact I'd say he taught me how to drink.
-I'll make a CD of them
-Aye
-Some of the early stuff like.  First couple of albums and that are good, used to really like them eh.  After that they wernae as good, no so fussed about them
-Aye, no so great
-Nah.  But I'll make you a CD of their early stuff.
-Aye
 
So a couple of weeks back I got round to putting this CD together.  18 tracks from the first three albums and the EPs up to Modern Rock Song.  It was the first time I'd listened to Belle and Sebastian for fuckin yonks, listened to them properly like.  And the way that hearing Scott Walker always makes me think of autumn (and autumn always makes me think of Scott Walker), listening to them brought back the memories of that time, the late 90s, the stuff I was doin, the places I was goin, the birds I knew all that kinda pish.  I mean, I listened to other bands at that time, but not in the same way.  I put a few songs on the machine to listen to on the way to work but I took them off after a few days.  The problem is ye get these memories, then ye get nostalgic for those times, forgetting all the shite that was going on, and then ye get maudlin wondering why things were so great then and its not like that now.  But it probably wasnae so great then and the now's no that bad.
 
I handed over the CD another Saturday afternoon in the Windsor.  That night I was sittin in the house a wee bit drunk when I got a text - "B&S a bit like Van".  Texted back "Totally".  But I was just agreeing for the sake of it again. 		 	   		  
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